PRAYAGRAJ, May 8 -- Prayagraj police on Wednesday launched a special drive across various parts of the district, including rural areas, to check the illegal availability of explosive materials used in making crude bombs. According to DCP (Trans Yamuna) Vivek Yadav, the campaign aims to curb the misuse of raw materials found in firecrackers for the illegal manufacture of crude bombs. "Police personnel across all police stations in the district are scrutinising the records of licensed firecracker sellers who were permitted to store and sell crackers during Diwali," he said. During the drive, illegal storage of crackers was detected in the Naini area, following which an FIR was registered at Naini police station, and the stock was seized. Based on intelligence inputs, police began the crackdown after receiving information about the misuse of explosive substances in firecrackers. Currently, the records of approximately 130 licensed firecracker sellers in the district are being verified. In addition, police have compiled a list of individuals suspected of supplying raw materials for making crude bombs. The drive follows a series of incidents involving crude bombs in the district, most notably the bombing in the Umesh Pal murder case on February 25, 2023, in the Sulem Sarai area. More recently, on the night of April 13, a businessman was attacked with crude bombs by two unidentified bike-borne assailants in the Naribari area along the Prayagraj-Rewa National Highway in Shankargarh. Investigations into the recent incident revealed that the assailants sourced explosive materials from a licensed firecracker seller, prompting intensified scrutiny of all authorized vendors in the district....